Author: Murrye Bernard, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP - Contributing Editor

Newly appointed AIA Fellows from New York include Christine J. Bodouva, FAIA, LEED AP; Michael F. Doyle, FAIA; Donald Fram, FAIA; Lia Gartner, FAIA, LEED AP; Stephanie Gelb, FAIA; Samuel Alexander Klatskin, FAIA; Joan Krevlin, FAIA, LEED AP; Sandro Marpillero, FAIA; Bernard A. Marson, FAIA; Bogdan Z. Pestka, FAIA; James S. Russell, FAIA; Walter Sedovic, FAIA, LEED AP; Anthony P. Schirripa, FAIA, IIDA and Yvonne Szeto, FAIA. Celebrate them at the AIANY 2010 New Fellows Reception, 03.04.10 at the Center for Architecture…

2010 RIBA International Fellowships were awarded to Elizabeth Diller and Ricardo Scofidio, AIA; the Royal Gold Medal was awarded to I.M. Pei, FAIA, RIBA…

Darris W. James, Assoc. AIA, won the 2010 AIA Associate Award…

Nine teams reached the second round of the Gateway Arch Design Competition including those led by Steven Holl Architects, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Rogers Marvel Architects, SOM, and Weiss/Manfredi; for a complete list and other team members, click here.

SpecSimple.com’s Save A Sample! design recycling drive is going national and will be accepting materials from Chicago, Philadelphia, Rochester, and Washington D.C. in addition to New York, from 04.20.10 through 04.22.10…

Parsons The New School for Design announced a new Master of Fine Arts in Transdisciplinary Design, which will launch in Fall 2010…

Eleven studios have joined Hometta.com, a website that offers modern house plans, including LTL Architects and nARCHITECTS…

Cannon Design announced that David Wilkinson, MAIBC, AAA, MRAIC, has been appointed associate principal… IA Interior Architects (IA) announced that LoriAnn Maas, IIDA, CID, LEED AP, has joined the NY office as a project director…

2010 Oculus Editorial Calendar
If you are an architect by training or see yourself as an astute observer of New York’s architectural and planning scene, OCULUS editors want to hear from you! Projects/topics may be anywhere, but architects must be New York-based. Please submit story ideas by the deadlines indicated below to Kristen Richards: Kristen@ArchNewsNow.com.

THE 2010 THEMES:
Spring: Architect as Leader: (CLOSED).

Summer: AIANY Design Awards 2010: (CLOSED).

Fall: Thinking Back / Thinking Forward and Understanding the Shift: The recession has given us the opportunity to reflect on the last decades of design and building — and what might be ahead. We will investigate trends in design, building, and marketing that are coming into play. What are the next steps in social media, BIM, sustainability, technology, competitions, stalled projects, adaptive re-use, design for flexibility, mergers and firm acquisitions?
Submit story ideas by 05.21.09

Winter: Practice without Borders: The world is growing smaller. New York is an international city, and it is easier than ever for overseas firms to work here and for New York City firms to work abroad. We will look into reciprocity, licensure, removal of boundaries to practice, and international competitions as ways to build renown.
Submit story ideas by 08.13.09

02.28.10 Call for Entries: 2010 MASterworks Awards

05.25.10 Call for Entries: The Living Climate Change Video Challenge

Event: No Fixed Points in Space: Transferring Form, Time, and Narrative between Architecture and Performance
Location: Miller Theatre, Columbia University, 01.26.10
Panelists: Trevor Carlson — Executive Director, Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation; Michelle Fornabai — Principal, Ambo.infra Design; Paul Kaiser — Digital Artist & Writer, Open Ended Group; Paul Miller (a.k.a. DJ Spooky) — Artist, Composer & Writer; Tere O’Connor — Founder, Tere O’Connor Dance
Curator & Moderator: Annie K. Kwon — Architectural Designer, Kwon Studio
Performances: Merce Cunningham Dance Company’s Repertory Understudy Group
Presenters: Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation; Barnard College Dance Department; Columbia GSAPP; School of the Arts, Columbia University

Merce Cunningham Dance Company’s Repertory Understudy Group.

Columbia University

Dance choreographer Merce Cunningham (1919-2009) collaborated with visual artists throughout his career. For his final work, Nearly Ninety (2009), he chose to collaborate for the first time with an architect, Benedetta Tagliabue of Barcelona-based Enric Miralles – Benedetta Tagliabue | EMBT, who designed the multi-tier set. This collaboration inspired the creation of a series of public programs to explore the “intersection between architecture and the performing arts.” The first of the three symposia convened a variety of talents from the fields of dance, music, and architecture.

Cunningham was a proponent of Einstein’s proclamation that “there are no fixed points in space.” Moderator and architect Annie K. Kwon agreed, noting that architecture and dance “steal from each other; they shift and merge and become something unexpected.” Much of Cunningham’s work involved the dancer’s interaction with the set. Rather than utilizing conventional proscenium staging, he preferred three-dimensional sets with multiple centers of focus.

Nearly Ninety‘s set was progressive within the world of modern dance, but it was panned by many critics who referred to it as “clunky” or too “sci-fi.” His set for the production BIPED was decidedly more elegant. Dancers slipped through slits in the back curtains; and a patterned, metallic scrim hung in front of the stage to frame the dancers’ figures. The “volumetric apparitions” varied depending on the sightlines from the audience, according to digital artist Paul Kaiser.

Tere O’Connor, founder of Tere O’Connor Dance, explained that “dance involves ‘around and through’ and not just a frontal experience,” which is similar to the way one experiences and understands a building. O’Connor looks to architectural concepts as a resource for his own work; for example, Rammed Earth is a performance piece inspired by ancient building techniques and is adaptable to almost any space.

Between discussions, dancers from the Merce Cunningham Dance Company’s Repertory Understudy Group performed. The music was dissonant, composed of seemingly random and harsh sounds, and the dancers’ movements ranged from fluid to rigid. The choreography of the dance was not set to the music, and at times they would coincide by chance while at others they seem awkwardly paired.

DJ Spooky sees dance as a way of “interpreting the space around you.” The human form bends and morphs within its liquid, ambiguous surroundings. Through its limits and capabilities, the body strives to explore space, just as the materials and structural systems that comprise buildings attempt to capture it.

Murrye Bernard, LEED AP, is a freelance architectural writer and a contributing editor to e-Oculus.

On 01.12.10 a powerful 7.0 quake hit Port-au-Prince, Haiti. This was followed by more than 30+ strong aftershocks. There has been widespread major damage and a loss of life estimated to be in the tens of thousands. There are projections of 2-3 million residents without shelter.

Architecture for Humanity will soon start exploring specific opportunities for rebuilding projects in cooperation with its partners on the ground. In the meantime, it has launched a fundraising appeal to support this long term reconstruction effort.

In its reconstruction plan, Architecture for Humanity has outlined several phases: Pre-Planning Assessments and Damage Analysis (underway, will run for a year); Establish Community Resource Center and Reconstruction Studio (Week 6 to Month 3); Sorting Out Land Tenure and Building Ownership (Month 6 to Year 5); Transitional Shelters, Health Clinics and Community Structures (Month 6 to Year 2); Schools, Hospitals and Civic Structures (Month 9 to Year 3); and Permanent Housing (Year 1 to Year 5). To get involved, click here.

The AIA-New Jersey 2009 Design Award winners include, in the following categories: “Built,” Port Authority Ferry Terminal at the World Financial Center by Donald T. Fram, FAIA, Port Authority chief architect, Robert I. Davidson, FAIA, chief architect retired, and FTL Architecture & Engineering Associates (Honor Award), and PREttyFAB by GRO Architects, and Roberts Soccer Stadium at Princeton University by Anderson Architects (Merit Awards); “Unbuilt,” Al Asmariya University for Islamic Sciences, Zliten Campus by RMJM Architects & Planners (Honor Award), and Headquarters for Telecommunications Regulatory Authority in Dubai and the Georgia Institute of Technology Carbon Neutral Energy Solutions Laboratory by HDR CUH2A (Merit Awards)…

The 57th Annual P/A Award Winners include the Museum of Image and Sound by Diller Scofidio + Renfro; LM Harbor Gateway by Steven Holl Architects; and Five Principles for Greenwich South: A Model for Lower Manhattan by Architecture Research Office (ARO)… The 2010 AR/MIPIM Future Projects Award winners include Nordhavnen: City Regenerative by FXFOWLE Architects, and Al-Birr Foundation Headquarters by Perkins+Will…

Architectural Record‘s “Good Design is Good Business” China Award Winners include these NY-based firms in the following categories: “Best Commercial Project,” Chervon International Trading Company, Perkins+Will, and Shanghai World Financial Center, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates; “Best Public Project,” United States Embassy of Beijing, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; “Best Residential Project,” Linked Hybrid, Steven Holl Architects, and Evian Town (Phase II), RMJM Architects & Planners; “Best Green Project,” Vanke Center, Steven Holl Architects; “Best Planning Project,” Longchi Town Conceptual Master Plan, AECOM Design + Planning, and Meixi Lake Master Plan, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates…

The Citizens Housing & Planning Council’s 51st Annual Luncheon will honor Michael Schill, Dean, University of Chicago School of Law and Founding Director, NYU Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy with the Impact Award for Excellence in Housing, and Steve Ross, Chairman, CEO, and Founder of The Related Companies with the Impact Award for Excellence in Planning…

The National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) has awarded AARRIS Architects and its president, Nicole Hollant-Denis, AIA, NOMA, its Honor in Design Excellence Award for the African Burial Ground National Monument; Hollant-Denis was also recently named NOMA’s National Liaison to Haiti…

The Architect’s Newspaper will receive a 2010 Collaborative Achievement Award at the AIA National Convention in Miami… Perkins+Will will receive a 2010 National Building Museum Honor Award for the company’s commitment to civic innovation in design, construction, and education…

Butler Rogers Baskett Architects has renovated the Johnson Chapel at the Trinity School… City College of New York (CCNY) announced the founding of a scholarship in honor of James L. Lammie, former CEO and Chairman of Parsons Brinckerhoff, and endowed by New York Lieutenant Governor Richard Ravitch…

Kirsten Sibilia, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP, has joined Dattner Architects as the chief marketing officer… Bill Bouchey, IIDA, has joined the NY office of M Moser Associates as design director… Jeff Knoll and Lillian Kim, LEED AP, have joined Ted Moudis Associates (TMA) as design manager and senior designer, respectively… Evan Weremeychik, AIA, LEED AP, has been promoted to vice president and is leading Karlsberger’s NYC Health and Science Architecture practice… James Kolker, AIA, LEED AP, has joined NBBJ as a senior associate…

2010 Oculus Editorial Calendar
If you are an architect by training or see yourself as an astute observer of New York’s architectural and planning scene, OCULUS editors want to hear from you! Projects/topics may be anywhere, but architects must be New York-based. Please submit story ideas by the deadlines indicated below to Kristen Richards: Kristen@ArchNewsNow.com.

THE 2010 THEMES:
Spring: Architect as Leader: (CLOSED).

Summer: AIANY Design Awards 2010: (CLOSED).

Fall: Thinking Back / Thinking Forward and Understanding the Shift: The recession has given us the opportunity to reflect on the last decades of design and building — and what might be ahead. We will investigate trends in design, building, and marketing that are coming into play. What are the next steps in social media, BIM, sustainability, technology, competitions, stalled projects, adaptive re-use, design for flexibility, mergers and firm acquisitions?
Submit story ideas by 05.21.09

Winter: Practice without Borders: The world is growing smaller. New York is an international city, and it is easier than ever for overseas firms to work here and for New York City firms to work abroad. We will look into reciprocity, licensure, removal of boundaries to practice, and international competitions as ways to build renown.
Submit story ideas by 08.13.09

04.16.10 Call for Entries: Office Needs for Good Deeds